The Doll Maker
by OhMyGoshsickles
Summary: I knew I shouldn't have taken that 3rd pill. I thought, staring astonished at the 8-inch chibi Kyoya as he paced across my vanity." 20 year old Natalie Brooks is a nobody. Or so it seems until the morning she finds a tiny Host Club on her bed side table.
1. Hello to you Too

**A/NHey, well this is a really bad time to write a new fanfic but this will be a short one ('bout 5 chapters, i think...) soooooo, just bear with me kay?**

_This is what I get for leaving my laptop on all night._ I thought, staring astonished at the 8-inch chibi Kyoya as he paced across my vanity.

I'm sure your all pondering that last sentence, well, first, let me give you a little information about myself.

I'm Natalie Brooks (called Nat by most, and 'hey you' by others) a twenty-year-old girl who dropped out of collage early to follow my passion of making dolls, even though I have a part time job at a café. I'm currently living alone, but have a steady boyfriend and a cat named Whiskers. I live in Burbank, California, a place where the greenest part of the year is winter, and where it only gets cold during the night or early morning.

I have the annoying habit of biting my nails and a tendency for insomnia, which I guess is really the root of my problem.

I was having trouble with the design for my newest doll, and after hours and hours of frustration and anxiety, I finally gave up and tried to get some sleep. Fate, however, had other plans. For just as I was nearing unconsciousness, my best friend Jenn (legally her name was Jennifer but she refused to answer to anything but 'Jenn') decided to IM me. Bleary-eyed I checked the time, my Sailor Moon alarm clock read 1:07, but I still managed to haul myself up and drag my laptop back into bed with me. I stroked the mouse pad a couple times and the light on the laptop flicked of sleep mode. Jenn's message read;

_**(Your friend WithYourGuy has signed on)**_

**WithYourGuy: HELP ME!**

I clicked the type box and slowly typed back.

**GlassyEyed: Hello to you too, your date must not have gone so well if your finding time to IM me.**

Her return message popped up immediately

**WithYourGuy: Ug, nightmare. He fell asleep on the couch, and I didn't feel like leaving so I started using his computer.**

**GlassyEyed: Ah, so why aren't you leaving?**

**WithYourGuy: Because after the night he's given me he better make a mean breakfast.**

I chuckled.

**GlassyEyed: Well some of us acctully need sleep, so I'm out. **

**WithYourGuy: See you at work tomorrow. **

**GlassyEyed: See you.**

I signed out, but at this point I was wide-awake. Silently cursing Jenn, I walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I grabbed a bottle of sleeping pills and took a second to wrestle with the top. I tapped the bottle against my hand until a few of the tiny pills spilled into my palm. There were three of them. Frowning I quickly did the math, seeming as it was 1:18 now, I should take- ugh I didn't care. I slung them into my mouth, quickly followed by the glass of water. I stumbled back into my room and buried myself under my covers, already feeling the effects of the sleeping pills; I blearily opened my eyes before I lost consciousness. The background on my computer, a picture of the host club in chibi form stared back at me.

"Night Guys." I mumbled, and then giggled sleepily despite myself.

Sleeps soft blanket covered me, and I drifted off into dreamland…

- -- -

**Do de do de do do dodo.**

**Wake Up!**

**Do de do do do do dodo.**

**Wake Up!**

**Do de do do de dodo.**

_Shut up!_

I clicked the top of Sailor Moons head, stopping the persistent theme song and therefore ending my torture.

_I swear, one day I'm going to throw that alarm clock against the wall. Or at least I would if it wasn't so valuable._

Forcing myself to rise from the comfortable bed, I automatically noticed something strange. The pink wall the Host club members on my desktop background stood in front of was barren, only the pink wall remained.

Well, that and there were seven small host club members stairing up at me from my desk, and they all seemed _very_ real.

**A/N Origanaly this was going to be a one-shot but I figured it would be lame to leave it there. So you guys decide, continue, or no?**

**-OhMyGoshsickels**


	2. Nothing Like Panic to Wake you Up

**A/N; I don't know whether you guys will be able to click on this or not. But here is the picture that Nat has as her back round;**

media./image/chibi ouran high school host club/mewmewpower/Ouran High School Host Club/PinkyStOuranHostClubbyc2lan.jpg?o11

**Oh, and for the record, you can't get high off sleeping pills.**

"Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have taken that third pill!" I spat incredulously, which made the Host Club jump about a foot in the air out of surprise.

"I've always been a relatively good girl! I never did drugs! But now look what you've done Natalie! Gotten yourself high off sleeping pills! You idiot!" I clutched my head. "Ugh. That, and I feel like lead."

Behind me, I heard Honey whisper to who I could only suppose Mori. "Do you think she's crazy?"

I spun around, pointing at them "You, hallucinations! Shut it! I'm trying to think!" Which made them jump again.

I glanced at the clock. 8:46 blinked back at me. "Crap! I'm going to be late for work!" The café, which I worked at, was 30 minutes away if there was no traffic, and I was supposed to be there by 9:00 each morning. I grabbed my clothes and hurried into the bathroom to change and brush my teeth. I quickly added a touch of mascara under my chocolate brown eyes, and threw on my uniform (A white button up shirt and a black skirt and tie). I wouldn't have time to take a shower today, I realized grimacing. I grabbed a comb and dragged it through my short, black, flyaway hair, all the while running around the house looking for my black ballet flats. I finally found them lying on the floor by my bed. Grunting I pulled them on, and The Mini Kyoya stood by my side.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken." Kyoya said, giving a polite smile. "We're not hallucinations, we're just as real as you are."

"Uh, huh, that's nice." I muttered, trying to ignore him. I stood, and dashed out of the room.

"Bye Whiskers!" I cried. "Don't eat the hallucinations!" The thick furred gray cat lifted his head up and flicked his tail at me before returning to his slumber.

_Well, it's nice that_ somebody _can get some sleep around here._

I sprinted out the apartment door and hopped into my white BMW, slamming the door shut and starting the car. I backed out of the parking space then traversed into the street. Making my way to Glendale.

Okay, by the time I got there I was twenty-three minutes late, which earned me a glare from my manager.

Tucking my hair behind my ear I approached my first customer.

All my troubles forgotten, I smiled.

"Hello, may I take your order?"

- -- -

I jiggled the key as I let myself into my house. Whiskers brushed up against my legs and meowed, begging to be fed. I poured some cat food pellets into his bowl. He meowed his thanks then waited till I left before he started crunching on the food. I walked into my room and saw the host club sitting on my bed.

"Ah! I thought you guys should have left by now!"

The Twins smirked at each other, "We told you we were real. You just decided not to believe us."

"But. It's. Not. Possible." I stuttered, my eyes wide. I reached out and gently picked up Haruhi. "Your warm," I muttered. "So are you not just a figment of my imagination? A bit of wishful thinking gone wild?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not."

I put her down slowly and Tamaki attempted to embrace her, howling something about how he was afraid for his daughters life.

"So, what do I do now?" I asked numbly, talking to no one but myself.

Kyoya answered anyway. "Well you'll have to get us back won't you?"

_Crap._

**A/N: Another short chapter. Thank you for all the reviews and support I got last chapter. Someone mentioned that they wished they had Nat's background well here it is! (At the top of the page is the link, I hope it works.) They also mentioned the Sailor Moon alarm clock, I used to have one, till the battery acid stared leaking and it destroyed it. (sob). But I got it in New York if anyone was wondering. Anyway, please review! (Next chapter will be longer! I think….)**

**-OhMyGoshsickels**


	3. How Many Times Can You Say 'Jello?

**A/N: Have you ever noticed that in fanfiction, it's very common that when a character dreams, he or she is remembering something? But that rarely happens in real life. Hmmm…**

**To anybody who was wondering, if your email is visible on your profile, and you express the wish to have Nat's background, I will email it to you. (It seems to be the only way of doing it).**

**Another note, I now have a beta! She offered to beta for me and I was very flattered. Her name is… (Drum roll, please)…**

**Tendrilofthought! Yayyyyyy! **

**(By the way, this is more than twenty words, Blondie, so hah! Lol)**

I sat across from Haruhi, eating strawberry Jello out of a glass bowl. It had been several days since I had learned that my great duty in life was to send a bunch of animated people who were the size of one of my dolls back through a computer screen, and trust me, I wasn't too pleased about it. At first, I had considered just grabbing them and shoving them against the screen, but my mind instantly rejected the idea. I hardly wanted to touch their fragile bodies, let alone grab them forcefully. For some reason, I had developed strong maternal feelings towards all of them.

I scooped up some Jello into my spoon. "You know," I said absentmindedly, "Jello is kind of pretty if you think about it."

Haruhi looked up from her own portion of the squishy substance. "Yeah, I guess you're righ--"

The door burst open and out of surprise the spoon slipped out of my hands and the jello landed with a plop on the intruder's foot. I glanced at Haruhi, but she had stiffened into the doll-like deameanor that we had practiced.

The man who had so dramatically entered the room was none other than my boyfriend, Rob.

He looked at the Jello that was resting on his tennis shoe, and his thoughts (_"what the hell?!")_ couldn't have been more obvious if he had a sign spelling them out above his head in neon lights.

After inspecting his shoe he looked up at me. "That's your defense against intruders? Flinging Jello at them?"

I gave him a look. "You startled me."

Rob grabbed a paper towel and swiped his shoe clean, then glanced up at the bowl in front of Haruhi. "Having a tea party?"

I laughed. "Pretty much."

He studied Haruhi more closely. "She's pretty impressive; is she yours?"

It took me a second to realize that Rob was asking if I had made her.

"Oh, yeah. She's mine."

_Please don't pick her up, please don't feel how warm she is, please don't hurt her,_ I silently begged, my thoughts running though my head so fast they blurred together.

Thankfully, he lost interest. "So, am I taking you to dinner on Sunday?" he inquired with mock politeness.

"Oh, I wouldn't keep away for the world," I replied in the same tone.

Rob grinned. "Great! See you then." He sauntered out the door, closing it with much less force than he had opened it with. Haruhi relaxed.

"Hey, you know what, Haruhi? He gave me an idea," I said, smiling to myself.

She looked up, rubbing her undoubtedly sore neck (she _had_ been sitting stiffly for the past five minutes). "What's that?"

"Well, you see--" Except it appeared to be _my_ turn to be interrupted mid-sentence, because there was a commotion coming from my room, where the rest of the Host Club currently resided. With a quick nod from Haruhi, I gathered her against my chest and ran to see what the fuss was about.

What I saw made my heart plummet. A tiny body lay horizontally on my pillow, his identical twin hovering over him.

"Kaoru…" I whispered, quickly but gently setting Haruhi beside the rest of the Host Club, who, like Hikaru, were gathered around Kaoru.

"What happened?" I said slowly.

Tamaki looked up fearfully. "Your cat came in, and the Twins were playing with it. But it got angry and started swiping at Kaoru! He got flung through the air and landed on your pillow."

A flash of aggravation coursed though me; how could they have been stupid enough to mess with the cat? Nevertheless, I kept my temper in check; there would be time to lecture them later. Now was the time to act.

"Hikaru, I need you to listen to Kaoru's heartbeat; it's too faint for me to hear," I instructed. "But be careful, he could have a broken rib."

Hikaru tore his tortured gaze from my own, and lightly pressed his ear against his brother's chest. While he did this, I got a better look at Kaoru. His faced was scrunched up in pain, and his arm and leg were hanging at odd angles. Hikaru lifted himself back up, relief flooding his features.

"He's breathing properly, and his heart is beating steadily."

I nodded. "Okay, I just wanted to make sure that he hadn't passed out or anything." I tucked my hair behind my ear, a nervous gesture. "Hikaru, I'm going to need you to move. I have to set his arms and legs back in place, and I have to check if anything else is broken." Hikaru looked hesitant to let anyone touch his brother but him. "Don't worry," I assured the worried twin, "I'll be very careful."

Hikaru stepped back and let me do what I had to. I straightened Kaoru's arm and then felt around to make sure it was in place, then I repeated the process with his leg. Kaoru gasped in pain, and his fists tightened, turning his knuckles white. Beside me, Hikaru did the same, though I was sure he was in a very different pain.

"Tamaki, would you go over to my dresser and get two Band-Aids from it?" He quickly scuttled off to do so, and quickly returned clutching the two seemingly oversized Band-Aids. I thanked him, and then proceeded to tightly wrap the bandages around the two broken bones.

"Why Band-Aids?" Kyoya curiously inquired.

"Because they're stiff enough to keep the bones in place while I think of something better."

Another question was asked, this time by Hunny, and it was much harder to answer.

"Is Kao-chan going to die?" he asked tearfully.

"No," I said firmly, hoping that if I said it enough, it would quell my fears, along with his. Then trying to brighten the mood, I added, "but I _will_ make something to keep you guys safe from the cat."

Finished with my work, I sat back. "He'll be fine; nothing else is broken, and he seems fine internally too, though you'll have to ask him when he's up to talking. Really, he's just in shock. Sometimes it happens when mice--"

"He is _not_ a mouse," Hikaru hissed ferociously.

I was surprised… then my gaze softened. "Of course. You're right. Try to talk to him, 'kay? I'll be right back."

I sighed, stepping out of the room. _That was scary; I never wanted something like that to happen to one of my-_ No! They were not mine, no more than I was theirs! These irking, possessive thoughts were starting to aggravate me more than Hikaru and Kaoru ever could.

I had almost called them _my_ Host Club. The thought was unforgivable; my human desire to own things was starting to get out of control.

"Haven't you heard Natalie? Slavery isn't cool," I muttered, bonking myself lightly on the head.

Maybe it was the trauma of watching someone lying in my bedroom in pain, or maybe it was the recent bonk on the head, but I suddenly had a surprising epiphany.

I knew how to get the host club back.

**A/N: See! It's longer than usual! **_**(Barely).**_** Was this chapter filler? No! **_**(Yes…).**_** Hey, has anyone else noticed that Natalie addresses herself as Natalie but everyone else calls her Nat? Isn't that odd? Hmmm. Well, of course I know how she's going to get them back, but do you? **_**(You liar).**_** Well, okay, I have a rough idea. **_**(…).**_** But I want to know YOUR ideas. By the way, to people who want Nat's background, I'll email it to them**_**. (Most people have their email addresses available on their profiles. Do you?).**_** Hopefully next chapter will be even longer! **_**(Doubt it).**_


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